1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to display technology, and more particularly, to a plasma display panel.
2. Description of the Related Technology
Recently, plasma display panels (PDP) have drawn great attention as devices for replacing conventional cathode ray tubes (CRT). PDPs create a visible image by exciting a fluorescent material formed in a discharge cell by generating a plasma discharge resulting in ultraviolet radiation being emitted in the discharge cell.
The lifetime of the PDPs can be reduced for various reasons. For example, the fluorescent material formed in the discharge cellmay be degraded as the fluorescent material experiences phase changes by vacuum ultra violet rays (VUV). Also, the fluorescent material or an MgO layer formed in the discharge cell may be damaged by ion sputtering occurring in the discharge cell.
FIG. 1 is a plan view of discharge cells of red 80R, green 80G, and blue 80B and sustain electrodes 31. As depicted in FIG. 1, the sustain electrode 31 is disposed over barrier ribs 30 that define the discharge cells 80R, 80G, 80B. In this configuration, during the discharge, space charges move to the barrier rib portion and sputter fluorescent material formed adjacent to the barrier ribs. The sputtering intensity of the space charges increases as the charges collide with the fluorescent material with high energy caused by a large potential energy difference in a plasma sheath region P adjacent to the barrier ribs.